Aksyonov Fest 2012 ended in Kazan

(KZN.RU, August 20, by Alisa Rozanova and Taisiya Basharkina) Kazan hosted Aksyonov Fest 2012 on Vasily Aksyonov’s birthday. Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin attended the evening concert at the Sandetsky Estate.

The concert was a grand finale of Aksyonov-fest. Performances by famous musicians were interspersed with readings of poetry, prose, works of contemporary writers and of Vasily Aksyonov himself.

One of the organizers of the festival, the chief editor of the Oktyabr magazine, Irina Barmetova, presented the new, 8th issue, part of which is devoted to the 80th anniversary of the writer’s birth. The magazine features previously unpublished stories and essays by the writer, as well as travel notes by his mother Eugenia Ginzburg -- the author of the famous "Whirlwind"  -- about the trip with her son to France. There are also memoirs about Vasily Aksyonov by people who knew him: director Mark Rozovsky, the U.S. ambassador in Moscow from 1987 to 1991, Jack Matlock, writer Vladimir Voinovich, a former employee of the radio station "Voice of Moscow" Lyudmila Obolensky-Flam and literary critic Benedict Sarnow.

This year, the literary and music festival, Aksyonov Fest, was held in Kazan on August 19-20. The decision to move the festival, traditionally held in November, was driven by a desire to mark the anniversary of the legendary writer’s birth.

"We could not pass by such a significant date as the 80th anniversary of Vasily Aksyonov’s birth. The annual Aksyonov Fest is a kind of monument to our outstanding compatriot, and we will continue to hold it,” said Ilsur Metshin during “Business Monday” at t City Hall.

"The name of Vasily Pavlovich Aksenov occupies an important place in the history of our city, along with such famous names as Fyodor Chaliapin, Rudolf Nureyev, Sofia Gubaidulina and Maxim Gorky. I am glad that during its five years of existence, the festival became famous far beyond the borders of the republic and the country,” said the mayor.

The festival was held at two venues: the writer’s house and the Sandetsky Estate. Residents and visitors to the capital of Tatarstan could attend a series of meetings with writers, critics, famous actors and V.Aksenov’s friends. Poets, writers, critics, artists and musicians talked about contemporary culture, poetry by young and venerable poets was recited, and jazz played. Organizers of the festival said that in September and November, concerts and literary soirees devoted to the 80th anniversary of Vasily Aksyonov’s birth will continue in Moscow.

Director of Kazan Museum of the Socialist Way of Life, Rustem Valiakhmetov, gave the Vasily Aksyonov house-museum the Aksyonovs’ inkwell, which for many years was kept in the family of their friends.